With Altadena burning, L.A. County lacked satellite mapping tool used by other agencies

The L.A. County Fire Department lacked access to FireGuard, a satellite mapping tool other California agencies have used for years to track wildfires.

During the Eaton fire, when aircraft were grounded, officials couldn’t see the fire’s westward advance — relying instead on ground observations in heavy smoke.

FireGuard data showed fire advancing toward west Altadena hours before evacuation alerts were issued, where nearly all 19 Eaton fire deaths occurred.

When the Eaton fire broke out in the foothills near Altadena, the Los Angeles County Fire Department did not have access to a satellite-based fire-tracking program regularly used by other agencies, depriving officials of intelligence that could have been helpful in determining evacuations.

The National Guard’s FireGuard program , w